Students from Illinois Institute of Technology and HafenCity University explore Chicago and Hamburg's similarities

A joint exhibition two years in-the-making brings together architecture students from Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) and HafenCity University of Hamburg to investigate the "analogous nature" of each school's host city. Stemming from a study abroad research project led by Adjunct Professor Martin Kläschen, the students from both institutions focus on the parallels of both locations and the unique history of these "sister cities."

Chicago's special bond with the city of Hamburg was inaugurated in 1994. Through these regional affiliations, the U.S metropolis has become an even more prominent global city rich with global education, cultural exchange, tourism, and international business opportunities.

Research uncovered by both institutions led to naming the exhibition, Doppelgänger, a German term referring to an individual's "identical lookalike" features. The work highlights the architecture, trade centers connected by oceanic bodies of water, and the rebirth of infrastructure after the historic fires that took place in both areas during the nineteenth century.

Examples of work featured focus on the city's transit systems that surrounds the downtown areas of Chicago and Hamburg. Another project presentation consists of an interactive wall which displays the definitive skylines of both cities revealing similarities as well as differences in scope.

Before heading to Chicago, Doppelgänger has been on display at the city of Hamburg's Kraftwerk Bille museum during the Hamburger Architektur Sommer event. Now in Chicago, the exhibition will be housed at Mana Contemporary until January 5, 2020.